14 2 Jeroboam sendeth his wife disguised to Ahijah the Prophet, who declareth unto him the destruction of his house. 25 Judah is punished by Shishak.

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

And Jeroboam said unto his wife, Up, I pray thee, [a]and disguise thyself that they know not that thou art the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh: for there is Ahijah the Prophet, which told me (A)that I should be king over this people,

And take [b]with [c]thee, ten loaves and [d]cracknels, and a bottle of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the young man.

And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah: but Ahijah could not see, for his [e]sight was decayed for his age.

Then the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son, for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for when she cometh in, she shall feign herself to be [f]another.

Therefore when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, Come in thou [g]wife of Jeroboam: why feignest thou thus thyself to be another? I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

Go tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I have exalted [h]thee from among the people, and have made thee prince over my people Israel,

And have rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and have given it thee, and thou hast not been as my servant David, which kept my Commandments, and followed me with all his heart, and did only that which was right in mine eyes,

But hast done evil above all that were before thee (for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and [i]molten images, to provoke me, and hast cast me behind thy back.)

10 Therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that (B)[j]pisseth against the wall, as well him that [k]is shut up, as him that is left in Israel, and will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung till it be all gone.

11 The dogs shall eat him of Jeroboam’s stock that dieth in the city, and the fowls of the air shall eat him that dieth in the field: [l]for the Lord hath said it.

12 Up therefore and get thee to thine house: for when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found [m]some goodness toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14 Moreover, the Lord shall stir him up a King over Israel which shall destroy the house of Jeroboam in that day: [n]what? yea, even now.

15 For the Lord shall smite Israel, as when a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall weed Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the [o]River, because they have made them groves, provoking the Lord to anger.

16 And he shall give Israel up, because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and [p]made Israel to sin.

17 ¶ And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah, and when she came to the threshold of the house, the young man died.

18 And they buried him, and all Israel lamented him, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Prophet.

19 And the rest of Jeroboam’s acts, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned, were two and twenty years: and he [q]slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

21 ¶ Also Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was one and forty years old, when he began to reign, and reigned seventeen [r]years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonite.

22 And Judah wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord: and they provoked him more with their sins, which they had committed, [s]than all that which their fathers had done.

23 For they also made them high places, and images, and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree.

24 There were also Sodomites in the [t]land, they did according to all the abominations of the nations, which the Lord hast cast out before the children of Israel.

25 ¶ And in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem,

26 And took the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the King’s house, and took away all: so he carried away all the shields of gold (C)which Solomon had made.

27 And king Rehoboam made for them brazen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which waited at the door of the king’s house.

28 And when the King went into the house of the Lord, the guard bare them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.

29 And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in [u]the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam [v]continually.

31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: his mother’s name was Naamah an [w]Ammonite: and Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 14:2 His own conscience bare him witness, that the Prophet of God would not satisfy his affections, which was a wicked man.
  2. 1 Kings 14:3 Hebrew, in thine hand.
  3. 1 Kings 14:3 According to the custom when they went to ask counsel of Prophets, 1 Sam. 9:7.
  4. 1 Kings 14:3 Or, wafers.
  5. 1 Kings 14:4 Hebrew, eyes stood.
  6. 1 Kings 14:5 Then the wife of Jeroboam.
  7. 1 Kings 14:6 For God ofttimes discloseth unto his the craft and subtlety of the wicked.
  8. 1 Kings 14:7 Which wast but a servant.
  9. 1 Kings 14:9 To wit, two calves.
  10. 1 Kings 14:10 Every male even to the dogs, 1 Sam. 25:22.
  11. 1 Kings 14:10 As well him that is in the stronghold, as him that is abroad.
  12. 1 Kings 14:11 They shall lack the honor of burial in token of God’s malediction.
  13. 1 Kings 14:13 In the midst of the wicked, God hath some on whom he doth bestow his mercies.
  14. 1 Kings 14:14 The Lord will begin to destroy it out of hand.
  15. 1 Kings 14:15 Meaning, Euphrates.
  16. 1 Kings 14:16 The people shall not be excused when they do evil at the commandment of their governors.
  17. 1 Kings 14:20 The Lord smote him that he died, 2 Chron. 13:20.
  18. 1 Kings 14:21 And died before Jeroboam about four years.
  19. 1 Kings 14:22 Or, besides all that their fathers had done by their sins.
  20. 1 Kings 14:24 Where idolatry reigneth, all horrible vices are committed, till at length God’s just judgment destroy them utterly.
  21. 1 Kings 14:29 Which books were called the books of Shemaiah and Iddo the Prophets, 2 Chron. 12:15.
  22. 1 Kings 14:30 That is, all the days of Rehoboam’s life.
  23. 1 Kings 14:31 Whose idolatry Rehoboam her son followed.

Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah(A) the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. Take ten loaves of bread(B) with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense?(C) I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:(D) ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler(E) over my people Israel. I tore(F) the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right(G) in my eyes. You have done more evil(H) than all who lived before you.(I) You have made for yourself other gods, idols(J) made of metal; you have aroused(K) my anger and turned your back on me.(L)

10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster(M) on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free.[a](N) I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.(O) 11 Dogs(P) will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds(Q) will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’

12 “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.(R)

14 “The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen.[b] 15 And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot(S) Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused(T) the Lord’s anger by making Asherah(U) poles.[c] 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins(V) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah.(W) As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.

19 The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20 He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.

Rehoboam King of Judah(X)

21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(Y)

22 Judah(Z) did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger(AA) more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones(AB) and Asherah poles(AC) on every high hill and under every spreading tree.(AD) 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes(AE) in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable(AF) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked(AG) Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple(AH) of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields(AI) Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.(AJ) 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare(AK) between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.(AL) And Abijah[d] his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 14:10 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
  2. 1 Kings 14:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  3. 1 Kings 14:15 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 1 Kings
  4. 1 Kings 14:31 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam